Essex church defends devil-horned bench tribute to The Prodigy’s Keith Flint
A church in Essex has defended its decision to unveil a bench with devil horns in tribute to The Prodigy‘s Keith Flint.
Flint, who was the vocalist with the legendary band, tragically died by suicide in March 2019, and now, the memorial bench has been unveiled in memory of the local icon at St Mary’s Church in Bocking, Essex.
Notably, Reverend Rod Reid of St Mary’s Church, which is located close to where Flint grew up and where The Prodigy were formed, oversaw the vocalist’s funeral in 2019, which saw thousands of fans line the streets.
Reid said in defence of the bench (per LBC), “The band and the family wanted something fitting for the churchyard. They were very respectful and very aware of the setting.”
He also stressed the importance of Flint, as well as The Prodigy, on the local area, explaining, “For local people here in Braintree and around, this means an awful lot.”
Reid added, “They remember seeing (Flint and Liam Howlett) on the dance floors in Braintree. They have followed them all the way through and they are proud.”
The reverend believes they have been “very respectful” with the design of the item, despite the subtle tribute to Flint’s devil-horned haircut amid the context of the memorial bench existing at a church.
The process of designing the bench included involvement by the band’s Liam Howlett, along with their manager John Fairs, and was signed off by Flint’s family.
Free Range Designs helped turn their ideas into reality, who proudly took to Instagram, which is full of positive comments on the creation, to write, “Working closely with the band and Keith’s family, we designed a piece that captured something of his unmistakable presence”.
The local company continued, “The central carving features the ‘Flinty Fins’ — a nod to the iconic devil-horn silhouette that became part of his identity.”
Sadly, last month saw The Prodigy lose another person who played a valuable role in their history, as their first manager, Ziggy Chowdry, passed away. They took to social media to describe him as a “force of nature” and recall, “He was our first manager back in 91 and got us our first gig in the 4 Aces, Labyrinth, Dalston.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.